The real reason that Olympic hero Ryan Lochte and Playboy Wife separate: decade -long dark ‘spiral’ unveiled

Not for the first time, Ryan Lochte was forced to tackle some shocking revelations. And not for the first time, he chose to omit some rather crucial details.

Earlier this week the wife of the Olympic swimmer, Kayla Reid, announced that she had applied for a divorce after seven years of marriage. In a statement on social media, the former Playboy Playmate described the pain of leaving Lochte.

They share three children (Caiden, 7, Liv, 4 and Georgia, 1) but Kayla claimed that this was an ‘act of love’.

Lochte, 40, broke his silence shortly thereafter. He ‘acknowledged’ what he and Kayla had ‘shared’, and insisted that this is the ‘the right step in the direction of peace and well -being for both of us’.

“I am dedicated to healing, growth and co-parenting with care and respect,” wrote Lochte.

But for all the talk about cooperation, problems simmer in court. Like last week, the Daily Mail, Fighting and Reid, 33, was revealed about the custody of their children. He has moved the parental home and they are both still loaded $ 270,000 in various unpaid debts.

Undoubtedly, the complete truth will ultimately arise. Just like in 2016.

During a remarkable career in the pool, Lochte won 12 Olympic medals, including six gold. He was a friend and rival of Michael Phelps. He was christened an ‘Olympic sex symbol’ and showered with approval agreements. He remains one of the most decorated swimmers in history.

But everything in the life of Lochte leads to a gas station in Rio de Janeiro. Locht ended up there as he competed at the 2016 Olympic Games. He went back from a party to the village of the athletes when he and three teammates were robbed by thieves who posed with police badges.

Or he initially claimed. But soon Brazilian agents had accused and accused him of coming up with the whole story. Surveillance images showed that the athletes were actually challenged by security after they reportedly destroy the bathroom from the gas station.

It was one of the most bizarre scandals in Olympic history and it began when Locht’s mother claimed that her son had been the victim of a robbery.

Instead of rectifying the record, Lochte continued, with a remarkable test. “We were put in the taxi, and these guys came out with a badge, a police bath, no lights, nothing just a police bath, and they crossed us,” he told NBC at the time.

“They brought out their weapons, they told the other swimmers to go on the floor – they went to the ground. I refused, I was like we were doing nothing wrong, so I’m not going on the floor.

“And then the man pulled out his gun, he pulled it up, put it on my forehead and said,” Go downstairs “, and I put my hands up, I was like” whatever “. He took our money, he took my wallet, he left my cell phone, he left my references. ‘

But soon his story was unraveled. Two other Team USA swimmers, Gunnar Bentz and Jack Conger, were pulled out of a flight and questioned by the police. Another teammate, Jimmy Feigen, was briefly held before he agreed to pay a donation of $ 11,000 to a good cause.

Locht had already left Brazil by the time the truth appeared and exploded the story. He apologized and admitted that he was drunk. “I made a mistake and I certainly learned from this,” he said. “They put on a great games … and my immature, drunk behavior attracted that a bit.”

Unfortunately he could not exceed the tide of criticism and conviction.

The swimmer was branded ‘The Ugly American’ and the ‘Dumbest Bell That Ever Rank’. He was accused of being ‘everything that the world hates about Americans’. And that was only because of his countrymen.

The mayor of Rio joined the stack. ‘It’s a shame that they are such weak characters, [and] That they have such personality errors, “said Eduardo Paes.

A few weeks later, when Locht appeared on Dancing with the Stars, demonstrators stormed the stage. Sponsors dropped him and we swim for 10 months. He also forfeited $ 100,000 in Olympic bonuses.

Within sources, Daily Mail told that the incident in Rio has yielded a downward spiral that Lochte has never been able to stop.

A source said: ‘Ryan’s post-Olympic career did not go as smoothly as he had hoped. He danced with the stars, had his own show and appeared in a few other TV shows, both reality and not, but it never went anywhere, and he could not make contact with the American audience in the same way as he was able to make contact with them during his time at the Olympic Games.

‘His scandals did not help, because it no longer made him a media -in the approval world and over the years it has been well documented that he has had a number of major money problems. He even appeared in a show a few years ago to try to get back on the right track. ‘

And unfortunately it seems that his romantic life has stressed the stress of that career.

“Those difficult times were a big stress for his relationship, and that is an important reason why he divorces,” our source added.

After Rio Locht never participated in another competitions and, not long after returning to the training, the swimmer was banned again. This time Locht posted a photo of himself who received an IV infusion.

The substance is said to be a freely available vitamin B complex washing legally. But the amount was imposed above the borders by the American anti-doping agency. And in July 2018, Locht was banned for 14 months.

“It is devastating for my family about this because I certainly made myself a better person after Rio,” said Locht at the time.

“I felt good. I was swimming quickly. My son [Caiden] be born. Everything happened. Everything was perfect, and then this happened. ‘

Locht was flirted with problems for a long time. As a prospect, he was regularly kicked out of practice for hiding or pulling jokes. “A pain in the ass,” was how his father once described him.

Even prior to the 2012 Olympic Games, when he was tipped to win a record of gold, Locht still found time to smear muscle rub cream in the shorts of his teammates and to wait until they feel the burn.

During the London Games he was accused of cultural -owning after wearing adapted grills over his teeth worth $ 25,000. He played in a reality -TV program -“What would Ryan Lochte do?” – Those viewers offered a look in his wild lifestyle.

A second series was never made, but the party went on. Prince Harry once challenged him for a late-night race at a pool party in Las Vegas.

Donald Trump accused Lochter of being ‘everywhere’ Olivia Culpo ‘as a puppy dog’ after she won Miss Universe in 2012.

A few years later, Locht spent the night in the Playboy -Heerhuis. But he insisted: “If I go out all night and I will dance and I drink, I still have a job to do.”

And then Locht had developed a wild work ethics. At the Junior Olympic Games, when he was 14, Lochte lost one too often and decided that he was sick of it.

It has not been so easy to change the record from the pool. Locht needed a knee operation after a breakdancing and he broke his ankle – three times – during skateboarding. A game of hide and seek with his little brother once ended with Lochte who fell out of a tree and broke his shoulder.

In 2023 he almost died after a car accident. He suffered from a broken leg and ‘(it) took almost everything from me – and for a long time it felt like it had, “said Lieve later.

“I had trouble finding myself again, sinking back in depression and to doubt my value as a father, a husband and the person I knew I could be.”

The family brought a lawsuit on the crash before Lochte was sued by one of the other drivers. Now he has to deal with the rubble of a broken marriage.

Lochte suggested Reid in October 2016, during a private helicopter tour on the most turbulent time of his life. They made the knot two years later, only for Kayla to separate in March.

Sources say that Lochte hopes that the divorce can cause a new chapter. He has daring plans for his future.

They added: ‘Ryan hopes that there is a silver lining with the divorce that he can get his life and finances on the right track. He wants to use this rough patch with which he has to deal with and to make something good of it.

‘Whether that means that you write a book or get another show. He wants to try to reinvent himself and use the coming Olympic Games of 2028 as a catalyst to be an analyst, to work and coach more and to be a talking head on TV, even with more sports than just swimming.

“This is the time to change his accident. All this has matured to a point where he has to sort something out, because as much as it is to get his feet back to the ground, he must support his children, because that is what really will define the inheritance he has released for himself. ‘

Lochte, who now organizes swimming clinics with his father. He has many lessons to share. From the swimming pool and the turbulent waters of life.

The Daily Mail contacted Lochte, members of his inner circle and his lawyer for comment.